Groundbreaking research shows that neurological health depends as much on signals sent by the body’s large leg muscles to the brain as it does on directives from the brain to the muscles. A new study published in Frontiers in Neuroscience fundamentally alters brain and nervous system medicine, giving doctors new clues as to why patients with motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy and other neurological diseases often rapidly decline when their movement becomes limited. The study involved restricting mice from using their hind legs, but not their front legs, over a period of 28 days. The mice continued to eat and groom normally and did not exhibit stress. At the end of the trial, the researchers examined an area of the brain called the sub-ventricular zone, which in many mammals has the role of maintaining nerve cell health. It is also the area where neural stem cells produce new neurons. Limiting physical activity decreased the number of neural stem cells by 70% when compared to a control group of mice which were allowed to roam. Furthermore, both neurons and oligodendrocytes (specialised cells that support and insulate nerve cells) did not fully mature when exercise was severely reduced.
